Neurology is the study of disorders of the nervous system. A neurologist is a physician who diagnoses and treats nervous system disorders of the brain, spinal cord and nerves. This specialist deals with problems related to brain disease, disorders of the brain, spinal cord, and the nerves, and the blood vessels that provide circulation to these organs. A neurologist also treats specific diseases such as Bell’s palsy, cerebellar ataxia and meningitis.
Physicians in this specialty treat patients suffering from numerous diseases and illnesses, but some of the most common are stroke, brain tumor, Guillain-Barré syndrome, Parkinson's disease, meningitis, Alzheimer's disease, seizure, migraine, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, coma, Tourette syndrome, chorea, ischemic stroke, ataxia, neuroma, encephalitis, encephalopathy, and transverse myelitis.
Once properly diagnosed, practitioners can perform numerous procedures on patients including Electroconvulsive therapy and Electroencephalogram (EEG).
To diagnose patients with possible illnesses and diseases, specialists will often perform one of many tests including CAT Scan of the Brain, MRI Scan of the Brain, CT Scan of the Brain, MRI Scan of the Spine, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Computed Axial Tomography (CT or CAT Scan), Electromyography (EMG), Lumbar Puncture (LP), Myelogram, Spinal Tap, Spinal Puncture, Cerebral Angiogram, Electroencephalography, Electronystagmography (ENG), Positron Emission Tomography (PET Scan), Nerve Conduction Velocity (NCV), Myelography, Cerebral Arteriogram, Evoked Potentials Studies, and Carotid Artery Duplex Scan.
Doctor density varies by specialty and location. The United States has 12,972 practicing neurologists. Broken out by state, neurology doctor density in Alabama is 161, in Alaska is 16, in Arizona is 279, in Arkansas is 71, in California is 1,453, in Colorado is 178, in Connecticut is 152, in Delaware is 27, in District of Columbia is 126, in Florida is 820, in Georgia is 315, in Hawaii is 43, in Idaho is 26, in Illinois is 551, in Indiana is 261, in Iowa is 121, in Kansas is 94, in Kentucky is 148, in Louisiana is 139, in Maine is 43, in Maryland is 362, in Massachusetts is 784, in Michigan is 478, in Minnesota is 306, in Mississippi is 82, in Missouri is 292, in Montana is 33, in Nebraska is 50, in Nevada is 63, in New Hampshire is 54, in New Jersey is 396, in New Mexico is 60, in New York is 1,224, in North Carolina is 325, in North Dakota is 26, in Ohio is 439, in Oklahoma is 120, in Oregon is 143, in Pennsylvania is 650, in Rhode Island is 63, in South Carolina is 145, in South Dakota is 22, in Tennessee is 214, in Texas is 706, in Utah is 86, in Vermont is 37, in Virginia is 305, in Washington is 231, in West Virginia is 64, in Wisconsin is 226, and in Wyoming is 13.
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